Spirituality of Imperfection


When I was growing up, I somehow got the message I needed to be perfect. When I entered the convent I continued to strive for perfection. It took me a few years to realize that perfection was an unattainable goal. I learned to accept my failures and faults, but I never knew about a spirituality of imperfection. I just thought I had to be content with not ever attaining my desired goal and realize my humanness. Then I heard about a retreat on the spirituality of imperfection and found a book with the same name by Ernest Kurtz and Katherine Ketcham. I learned that AA is based on the spirituality of imperfection and the 12 steps enable a person to acknowledge that he/she is not God and seek help with others in need of healing. I began to see the foolishness of berating myself for my shortcomings and the wisdom of acknowledging that pain and failure are a part of life.  All our yearnings for perfection, completion, wholeness are unreachable because we are human. Since the search for spirituality is a search for the real and true, we need to face ourselves as we really are: fallible, weak, wounded. This reality leads us to God who forgives, heals, and loves the sinner. Jesus praised the publican who prayed, "O God, have mercy on me, a sinner." So, each day I try to accept the reality of who I am and to rejoice in my imperfection.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

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